Guest Karla88 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Hi everyone, I'm planning to homeschool my Kinder student and am trying to plan curriculum. I'm feeling pretty unsettled on what to do about reading/phonics curriculum. My dd is already reading with ease and as I've been looking at placement tests, I would put her at level 3 for most curriculum/readers, etc. She hasn't had any official reading/phonics instruction however. She wouldn't know any terms, rules, decoding, etc. So in this area, I feel that we should start at the beginning of whatever program I choose. However, whenever I look at the readers, word lists, etc....I know she will be bored to tears. I would love to receive advice from others who have experience with this. Should I start at the beginning of a reading program, but skip their readers? Should I start at reading level and try to go back and teach the rules that we've missed? Are there programs that focus on the rules and phonics? Karla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamilleBethany Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Possibly check out SRA phonics and Explode the Code (starting with book 1, not book A)? I"m not sure if that's an official answer for you or not, but look into those :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milknhoney Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I am currently doing OPGTR (Ordinary Parent Guide to Teaching Reading - Peace Hill Press) with my daughter who is four. Her situation is slightly different in that she wasn't already reading when we started. However, even though we have only gotten as far as silent-e words, something has clicked in her head and she can read so much more. It's unbelievable! However, as good as she is at reading her storybooks, she still seems to be quite challenged by the lessons in OPGTR. I'm not really sure why that is; maybe because she can't rely as much on context to figure it out. I suggest you make sure that she can read lists as well as sentences before ruling out a basic program. A while back I seem to remember that SWB has a YouTube video on the Peace Hill Press channel explaining how to use OPGTR with a child who is already a good reader so that she will still fill challenged while you make sure she is learning the basic phonics rules. You might also consider skipping reading instruction altogether and begin a spelling program instead. All About Spelling is extremely thorough in terms of phonics rules and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I'd do All About Spelling and not bother with a reading program. Just read books. Enjoy that you got a natural reader and let her enjoy books. AAS will sweep up any missed phonics knowledge and you can take it slow because the focus will be on writing, which is slower to develop than reading for most (not all, but most) kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 You can teach all of the phonics she will need through spelling. AAS and ETC are good programs. There are many more. If her writing is as accelerated as her reading, think about that as you pick a spelling program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I agree with PP, do spelling, don't worry about reading. And don't be surprised if spelling is a chore for her that reading has not been :) You might also consider getting something cheap and easy, like OPGTR and starting with the lessons where she's stumped. That might, in fact, be the best thing to do. Get OPGTR, pick up where she has gaps--it's easy to figure out by having her read the short passages, and get her going on phonics since she probably has some progress she can make. If she likes workbook stuff and likes writing, start with spelling, but if she hates writing and spelling, wait till 1st grade to start spelling. My oldest dd started reading very early as well, but hated writing and so I didn't push spelling until 1st grade. I could not understand how she could read all these complicated words but struggled to spell PAN or something simple. The brain just works in different ways :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Free, designed for an older student, has both spelling and phonics: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/WellTaughtPhonicsStudent.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Karla88 Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thank you everyone. This was very helpful. I was actually already planning to get AAS, in addition to a reading/phonics program so maybe I'll just skip the reading program and focus on spelling. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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